So I love a kids' birthday party. And throw me a theme, I'm all over it. Eli's LEGO party was no exception and was such a blast! Eli invited all of his school friends and was so excited for his Lego party. I took this past week off to get ready for the it. Usually I start working on party stuff way in advance but after Cole's party last month and the demands of work, I didn't get as much of a jump as I wanted so it was a busy week!
Thankfully, this time I remembered the time I had planned the party and it worked out great. Having a 2pm party allowed us to handle "morning of" details and not be super rushed. I had a few games planned and of course, snacks, cookies and cupcakes. Our first game was a Backyard Scavenger Hunt to find all the Yellow Lego men. I had no idea how much the kids would love it. Eli was hilarious searching the yard with his "posse". He would point to one, someone would grab it and then another friend would collect them. As more kids arrived, more got into the fun of finding Yellow Lego Men. We even had to hide them over and over after they found them. After a while of that, we played Lego Bingo. The kids play Bingo at school and were so excited to play it. I could not believe how great they participated - sitting at the table, marking off the squares as I called the character and calling Bingo when they had Bingo. We played until everyone had Bingo and they all got a Lego folder and pencil for school as their prize. After Bingo, it was cupcake time! Everyone was excited for that. We sang 'Happy Birthday' to Eli and he blew out his Lego candles. He was so sweet. I made the cookies and cupcakes and this year, instead of paper cupcake toppers, I got all ambitious and made chocolate Lego toppers. My first adventure in molding chocolate and it turned out great. We had the kids line up to get their cupcakes and it was so funny how every single child not only wanted their cupcake but a Lego Man head cookie as well. They loved them!
After cookies and cupcakes, we had the main event. Lego Car Build and races. We bought a few wheel / chassis sets and let the kids use regular Legos and their imaginations to build all sorts of vehicles. Once they built something they wanted to let ride down the ramp, they'd bring it over and see how fast it would go down. Their designs were amazing! I loved seeing all their creations and everyone really got into it. They would do a test run and then make adjustments / redo their cars. It was like pine derby races with Lego cars! So much fun.
I opted not to let Eli open his presents AT the party this year. Several reasons for this but most importantly, he & I had talked about how it's great if a friend brings you a present for your birthday but they don't HAVE to. I wanted to make it more about being with his friends and less about getting gifts. He did really well with that. And I think all the kids were so busy for the two hours that no one was bothered by it. Secondly, the kids always get crazy when gifts are opened too. They all want to see and help so it gets a little chaotic. I also wanted Eli to actually see the gifts and be able to talk about who gave it to him instead of just going to the next one. So anyway, it worked out great. I was SO proud of Eli during the party. He was great with all his friends and made sure everyone was taken care of and had fun. I also felt (may have just been me) that he was proud of his party. All of his friends had such a fun time and a few didn't want to leave. =) We had no meltdowns or problems between friends; it was just an awesome party!!
And, just as I did at Cole's birthday party, I made sure everyone got a handmade party favor. I made each child a Lego Man shirt - Eli and Cole actually wore theirs at the party - and they also got a package of Lego cookies. The goodie bags were a huge hit and the kids all loved their shirts. All in all, the party was a huge success and I'm so thrilled with how it turned out. Next year, a much smaller party. Mom can't keep this up every year! =)
Lego cookies - made by Me =)
Is this how Wolverine started out? Decorating tip fingers
Party Prep - Eli helped Daddy build the ramps for the Lego car races. He was thrilled to use the drill.
Party day surprise from Mom & Dad - cool Lego head sort & store
How many Legos in the jar? 122!
Lego cookies - Lego Man heads, big / small Lego blocks and #5s. We also had M&Ms and Lego candies.
Snack table - popcorn, goldfish, pretzels, also had cheese & crackers.
Happy Birthday Eli!
our front door for the party
Family shot before the party - I told my friend Kara that I wore green because I'm the family baseplate!
Grabbing some M&Ms
Little popcorn containers
On the Lego Man scavenger hunt
Evan was the holder of the Lego Men
Searching.....
Abby found two!
Still looking.....seriously, they LOVED it!
Time for Lego Bingo
Each Bingo sheet had pictures of Lego mini figures / characters
and then I would draw / show a card of the character. Regular Bingo rules applied.
Cupcakes - yummy vanilla with chocolate Lego block toppers.
Colin hunting for Lego men (these are in order so the hunt kept going on!)
Eli's cupcake with FIVE Lego candles
Happy Birthday Eli! I just love this picture. He has the sweetest expression.
Cupcakes AND cookies!
I think Cole had more than one. I'm not really sure. =)
Lego car build time
The build spanned three tables and the kids all got along great!
1st test run
Cole's creation
The girls loved it too!
Best shot I got of the goodie bags - I punched holes and put them on there to look like Lego bags.
The party place - thankfully the weather was awesome. Not too hot, overcast so not too sunny and it started sprinkling rain as we finished up.
Modifications to their cars.
Grandpa C found a big bug and had a captive audience.
Someone said it was a katydid. I haven't checked so I'll go with that.
Most of the party gang. There were a few kids that didn't want to be in the picture. So much fun!!
One of the Moms sent me this picture she took in our driveway. Once the kids found out there were t-shirts inside, they all had to put them on.
Mommy & Cole - check out my Lego earrings! Tim & I made them just before the party.
Dirt Bike Transporter
Monster truck
Camper!
Grandma & Grandpa N
Grandma & Grandpa C
My little Lego boys - they're getting so big!!
Uncle Billy & Aunt Niki
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